EADS delay is our lossImagine a battlefield. Injured soldiers are taken by truck or by helicopter to a rear area where a trailer awaits, complete with emergency surgical facilities. Imagine the situation after a war. Dangers still exist, both for our own troops and for civilians who are trying to rebuild their lives and their country. More of those trailers are flown to dirt landing strips, then trucked to places where they are needed, where the local hospital or c...

Safe schools need workThe small-town America depicted on 1950s sit-coms never really existed, although rural areas of the South probably came closer than most places. But even here, that image of safe streets, low crime, stay-at-home moms and everyone knowing everyone else is growing more and more out of step with reality. It's time for schools, parents and the rest of us to face up to the reality. On Monday, a young man in an Air Force uniform showed up at Russell...

Costly turf out of placeAthletic extracurricular activities in general are the lifeblood of any community in Arkansas. A few Sundays ago, an Associated Press story featured the tradition-laden Barton High School football team and the possible impact educational reform - i.e., consolidation - could have on the Barton community. We refresh your memory not to stir up the coals of dissent or anger. Rather, a couple of recent articles bring to light one of the aspects tha...

Right words arrive lateWhile President Bush has certainly left himself open to criticism for the administration's handling of the peace in Iraq (or what passes for peace), his counterparts in France and Germany aren't expressing ideas that are any better. Bush suffered from a lack of credibility when he spoke to the United Nations on Tuesday. Since he spurned calls to wait for U.N. backing before beginning the war, his own call for support now, when peace and progre...

City policies must be fairTwo Russellville police officers recently resigned to join the Arkansas State Police. One was paid four days of sick pay, four extra hours of overtime on those sick days, plus a full day for being "processed out," all on the authority of the departing interim police chief. The other stayed on his beat right up to his last day, like other officers have done in the past. Employers enjoy a lot of latitude in how to grant benefits such as sick pay...

Ill served by secrecyBad news travels fast, even if it's not true. In the news business, we hear a lot of rumors. Some turn out to be true, or at least have a grain of truth, while others range from merely erroneous to exaggeration to outright fabrication. Generally speaking, the best way to handle any rumor is to hold it up to the light of day, where the facts can shine for themselves. Two instances last week come to mind. One was just mistaken information; the o...

Industy site makes senseEfforts to bring new businesses and new jobs to the River Valley area will likely take another step forward tonight when the Russellville City Council considers a request to approve purchase of three tracts of land near the proposed Intermodal site. The three tracts, which total about 220 acres, will cost $240,000, money that comes from a sales tax approved by voters last year for economic development. It will be money well spent. While the In...

Once more: vote for the millage neededWhile we've addressed this issue before, we need to re-emphasize how important today's millage vote will be for the Dardanelle School District. First and foremost, there was little choice for the school board but to ask for this 2.7-mill tax increase, and, if voters reject that increase today, there will be little choice for the quorum court but to levy a 16.3-mill increase for the district to be in compliance with the law of the land, Amendme...

Cities' tussle needs to endSome things just get better with anticipation: Ketchup oozing out of the bottle. Christmas. A sunset seen over the lake. Waking up on a Saturday morning to the smell of coffee and bacon. Other things are little better than water torture: Dripping faucets. April 15. Waiting for Wesley Clark to make his decision. The never-ending legal battle between Dover and Russellville city government over a proposed sewage treatment plant. Babies born after...

Sales pitch needs workConvincing someone to give up their hard-earned money generally requires a good job of selling the product. Ask any retailer or broker or real estate agent how difficult it can be to close a deal. The same is true even for a governmental body that has the power to raise business permit fees on a simple majority vote. This point was made forcefully to the Russellville City Council last week by a number of area business owners who will have to p...

City's heart is downtownLook for the heart of any city, and it won't be in the shopping centers on the outskirts of town or the strip malls that line the throughways. It won't be in the shiny new developments near the interstate or the structures near the industrial park. As vital as those elements are to the city, they still aren't the heart of that town, which will be found in the old downtown business district. In that downtown area, one will find two-story brick ...

Alabama's hard lessonIt's hard to be optimistic when all around we see situations where people know the right thing to do but choose the wrong thing. Tuesday's election results in Alabama must give us pause when we think of the decisions Arkansas legislators must try to reach in the December special session. In Alabama, Republican Gov. Bob Riley tried to take the high road and reform the state's tax system and education all in one bold step. The state certainly ne...

Borrowing as sacrificeOur nation has been at war for two years now. We have fought and won key battles, first in Afghanistan, then in Iraq, but the war on terrorism is not yet over. Even the ultimate outcomes in Afghanistan and Iraq are still in doubt. But what sacrifices have we Americans made so far? In World War II, the touchstone of American experience with war, the need for sacrifice reached into every aspect of American life. People bought war bonds to financ...

High ground stands emptyGiven the level of animosity in the debate over abortion, it might be hard to imagine there is any middle ground, any measure of agreement. The common ground may be hard to find, but it is there, at least for anyone willing to look for it. It should have become more evident on Wednesday with the execution of Paul Jennings Hill, the man convicted of killing a Pensacola abortion doctor and his volunteer escort nine years ago. We respect the view...

It only leaks if it rainsIf Sanford C. Faulkner, the original Arkansas Traveler, were riding through the River Valley again lo these many years later, his stop in Russellville might not be at some squatter's shack. He might stop by the Pope County Library instead, only to find a similar problem. Faulkner is the source of the original tale for the "Arkansas Traveler" folk story, song, play and the famous painting, which is credited to Edward P. Washburn, a son of missi...

Reform bid has benefitsThe never-ending debate over school reform and consolidation in Arkansas has left people frustrated, angry, worried, defensive and exhausted - all at the same time, and on both sides. One adjective that hasn't been used much on this issue is "grateful." That would be "grateful" that we don't live in Oklahoma. Or Alabama. Or Missouri. In Arkansas, part of the debate on education is over whether to close some schools to improve opportunities for...

Marching for healthImagine a healthy child, full of life and energy, suddenly being struck down, unable to walk. Imagine public swimming pools closed in the middle of summer; imagine children being kept close to home out of fear of contracting such a disease. Imagine a hospital ward filled with iron lungs, each one a large tank holding all but the head of a child or a young adult unable to breathe alone. Thankfully, such images are now limited to our imagination...

The power of workersMany Americans are taking a break from their labors on this long holiday weekend, using for leisure a time that was first meant to honor their very work. Many will speak today and tomorrow about how the American worker is the driving force behind the world's most powerful economy. Fewer, perhaps, will praise the American worker for being the driving force behind our very freedom and the representative democracy we enjoy We have mentioned at le...

Johnny Cash bridges musical gapThe Man in Black is fading to gray these days, but his influence in American music is still being recognized. The 71-year-old icon's music video "Hurt" received seven nominations for this week's MTV Video Music Awards and took the prize for cinematography. Part of Cash's magic is that he respects, and even embraces, recent music. "Hurt" is a cover of a Nine Inch Nails song, but Cash takes that song of youthful anguish and makes it his own. He ...

Commentary crosses linePart of the purpose of an editorial page is to spur people to think, to weigh their own viewpoints, to decide for themselves what they hold to be true and right and just and fair. Disagreement is not a negative thing; it is part of the process that society uses to reach a consensus on how to move toward the future. Criticism of ideas and policies is central to the process of refining how we believe and how we act, as individuals and as a natio...